Setting a higher bar for grades

Published: Friday, August 16, 2013 at 11:14 AM.

High school coaches make a fair point when they express fears that tougher academic standards for student-athletes might drive one or two to leave school before graduation. There’s little doubt that keeping teens on campus as long as possible can only help them down the road.

But those pushing for an overall C average in order for students to remain eligible to play make a better one. Our public schools should be demanding more of all students, not less, and additional motivation to improve academics across the board is worth pursuing.

That’s why we endorse in principle a proposal discussed last week by the Alamance-Burlington Board of Education to raise the level for athletic eligibility to a 2.0 average for student-athletes. The revision would exceed the academic benchmarks required by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association, which calls for students who participate in sports to pass at least three courses, pass their grade and have an 85 percent attendance rate.

The board didn’t commit one way or the other last week during a presentation on the issue by Charles Monroe, assistant superintendent of administration and auxiliary services for the school system. Monroe and ABSS director of athletics Ericia Turner were asked to survey coaches and school athletic directors and return in September with more information for the board.

At the moment, the change would affect only a handful of student-athletes in Alamance-Burlington schools, Monroe said. Of 970 students playing sports in the school system, only 95, or 10 percent, are now short of the C average that would be required under the revised policy.

But it’s an important 10 percent. Some are students at-risk of dropping out who may move onto murky life paths without the structure of a campus or adult role models. Some struggle with learning disabilities and better performance in the classroom may be beyond their control.

“(Coaches) didn’t want them to be penalized because of a disability,” Monroe said.

High school coaches make a fair point when they express fears that tougher academic standards for student-athletes might drive one or two to leave school before graduation. There’s little doubt that keeping teens on campus as long as possible can only help them down the road.

But those pushing for an overall C average in order for students to remain eligible to play make a better one. Our public schools should be demanding more of all students, not less, and additional motivation to improve academics across the board is worth pursuing.

That’s why we endorse in principle a proposal discussed last week by the Alamance-Burlington Board of Education to raise the level for athletic eligibility to a 2.0 average for student-athletes. The revision would exceed the academic benchmarks required by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association, which calls for students who participate in sports to pass at least three courses, pass their grade and have an 85 percent attendance rate.

The board didn’t commit one way or the other last week during a presentation on the issue by Charles Monroe, assistant superintendent of administration and auxiliary services for the school system. Monroe and ABSS director of athletics Ericia Turner were asked to survey coaches and school athletic directors and return in September with more information for the board.

At the moment, the change would affect only a handful of student-athletes in Alamance-Burlington schools, Monroe said. Of 970 students playing sports in the school system, only 95, or 10 percent, are now short of the C average that would be required under the revised policy.

But it’s an important 10 percent. Some are students at-risk of dropping out who may move onto murky life paths without the structure of a campus or adult role models. Some struggle with learning disabilities and better performance in the classroom may be beyond their control.

“(Coaches) didn’t want them to be penalized because of a disability,” Monroe said.

In an interview with the Times-News, Graham High School Athletic Director Mike Williams amplified some of those concerns.

“We’ve got a few, they are good kids and good athletes, but don’t make the 2.0, and that would keep them from participating and staying here and doing as well as they are doing,” Williams said. “There are a handful of kids that if they didn’t have athletics and the team and coaches as role models, they might not have any role models.”

But a deeper commitment to academics could raise the bar for some struggling students who need an additional push that will only help them later in life. It could also boost college-bound student-athletes as well. Starting in 2016, high school seniors who wish to play sports as college freshmen will have to graduate with a 2.3 average.

While we tend to agree with the observation from school board member Patsy Simpson that a higher standard could motivate students to achieve more academically in order to remain eligible to play, we also like the idea that provisions be put in place for athletes with learning disabilities. It also seems fair that students be given a probationary period in order to improve their grades and remain eligible while doing so.

In this day and age it’s more important than ever that students absorb as much education as possible. Beyond the playing field, young adults are emerging from high schools and poured into an uber-competitive job market where knowledge, dedication and a commitment to work are paramount. Employers today demand more.